Friday, May 13, 2011

Dirks Recalled, Ordonez to DL

The Tigers have announced via Twitter that Magglio Ordonez has been placed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to May 11 with ankle weakness. Outfielder Any Dirks will take his place on the roster. The left-handed batting Dirks was batting .328/.375/.527 with six homers for Triple-A Toledo.

The 25-year-old outfielder is a legitimate prospect, although not an elite one. He does not have one standout tool, but has pretty good skills across the board and is capable of playing all three outfield positions. He is also the type of gritty hard-working player who will appeal to manager Jim Leyland. That combined with his strong start for the MudHens means that he should get plenty of playing time. He probably won't arrive in time to start tonight's game, but look for him to start at one of the corner outfield positions against right-handed starters.

Since Ordonez is batting just .172 with four extra base hits, this move is only going to help the Tigers. It gives them a potentially productive bat in the line-up while allowing Ordonez time to heal properly.